Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

@MaVolta Right? The peer review process (this study finds one thing, the next finds something else, then we're back to a study finding the same as the first ... ad nauseam) can be frustrating and confusing. But it is how we finally arrive at whatever it is going to be we collectively decide is truth.

This isn't a study, but an article by a doctor commenting on a host of studies and offering his review of them, and thus his findings based on the host of studies along with his recommendations. I posted it because this particular doctor is a senior athlete and is uber healthy (as is his wife) and DH and I find great wisdom in his newsletters. Our own bias revealed? Maybe. I have always considered all alcohol a poison, and the benefits offered available elsewhere without the poison aspect.That's me, of course.

And yep: find your own way; figure out what is best for you. That's all we can do.

May your fab checkups continue!

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

I don't put much faith in "studies" because they are continually changing. I believe that any "study" can prove or disprove "whatever" based on the parameters chosen to define said "study." Whatever one study proves, another disproves.

We do not know anything about how subjects for these "studies" are chosen, or anything about their lifestyles, health issues or family histories of health issues. I have serious doubts that you can get an "apples to apples" comparision in human beings, as it seems much more likely that you have a mix of "apples to oranges to plums to pineapples" of differences in human beings.

That said, I eat a healthy Mediterreanean diet with fish and vegetables cooked with olive oil, no meat, lots of fresh salad and tomatoes, whole grains, and little animal fat (that comes with whole milk yogurt or low fat ice cream). And yes, it includes wine with dinner, two cups of black coffee in the morning, and a little dark chocolate! I also exercise and maintain a healthy weight. As long as my check ups are good, I'm not changing a thing!

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

@Epster 31 days? And why January? There are over 40 bowl games and lots of pre-Olympic activity to watch in January. Can’t be February either we’ve got the super-bowl and the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. How about picking another month.

"'Tis the season to be jolly, but if your cheer this year ends up including a little too much egg nog, mulled wine and other tasty spirits, here’s something to consider: Dry January. It’s an increasingly popular practice where people decide to give up alcohol for the entire month. Some do it as a sort of start-the-year-off-right detox, others to lose weight, join friends in a fun health challenge or, sometimes, test the seriousness of their dependence on drinking.

The concept was introduced five years ago in Britain by the nonprofit Alcohol Concern. Citing the country’s notorious problem with binge drinking, the organization pitches Dry January as a way to “start conversations that lead to a healthier relationship with alcohol” — not to mention “a chance to ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline, and save some serious money by giving up alcohol for 31 days.”"

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

@ReTiReD51 Have you posted proof or alternate opinion? Proof is what all these conflicting studies are striving to achieve. Peer review is what makes that eventual. So yah, meanwhile, studies show this, then studies show the opposite. (lifts hand to air)

My links site their information is derived from institutes and universities conducted by professionals through proof of observational studies and research.

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

Here's the lead in to the piece referenced in the original thread post.

Even Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risks for Cancer and Heart Attacks

The United States Public Health Service says that alcohol kills more than 88,000 people in the United States each year, and has shortened the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years. Alcohol also causes one in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years and the health damage it causes costs $223.5 billion, or $1.90 per drink.

Thirty percent of all alcohol–related deaths are caused by cancer, with 60 percent of these deaths from breast cancer, and one third of these deaths were associated with an average of fewer than two drinks a day (Drug Alcohol Rev, June 16, 2016). A review of scientific articles shows that drinking even one glass of wine a day raises the risk of cancer of the throat, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast (Addiction. Jul 21, 2016). The more you drink, the greater your risk for developing these cancers. Alcohol has also been associated with cancers of the skin (Am J Clin Nutr, Nov 2015;102(5):1158-66), prostate and pancreas. A new review of 27 studies showed that taking up to two drinks a day is associated with a 23 percent increased risk for prostate cancer (BMC Cancer, Nov 5, 2016).

A review of 222 scientific papers that followed 92,000 light drinkers and 60,000 non-drinkers showed that taking just one alcoholic drink a day is associated with increased risk for cancer of the mouth and throat, esophagus and breast (Annals of Oncology, Feb 2013; 24(2):301-308). Thirty-seven percent of North American adults take up to two drinks a day. Several studies show that mouth, throat and liver cancer patients who stop drinking have a reduced chance of recurrence of their cancers compared to those who continue to drink.

"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

@ReTiReD51 Have you posted proof or alternate opinion? Proof is what all these conflicting studies are striving to achieve. Peer review is what makes that eventual. So yah, meanwhile, studies show this, then studies show the opposite. (lifts hand to air)

These are snippets from a very recent article, written by a medical doctor. Do take that into account when deciding what you think about the findings. Whatever you do decide about Dr. Mirkin's assertions, one thing remains true: our lifestyle choices greatly influence our future health. May yours be perfect for the remains of your life.

FWIW I put forth my history and action. The facts and opinion in the original piece about alcohol come from a medical doctor, not me.

As for me, I'm sticking with filtered water. Odd fact: according to 23andme, my DNA reveals that I am less likely to flush when drinking alcohol (no idea what that means). Their testing also reveals that due to my ethnicity and coloring I am more likely than most to become an alcoholic.

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"The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical." Julius Erving

Re: Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Cancer & Heart Attack

“Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages” …. Louis Pasteur.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel finding links that prove not all your negative assertions about wine and beer are correct. As a matter of fact I didn’t have to go far, I found them on this very website. Cheers!